Rhiwderin Camp

Description

Small, roughly circular earthwork, consists of a bank with no visible ditch, which encircles the top of a small hillock in undulating low-lying ground.
The natural slopes of the hillock are gradual on all sides except for the north-west where the ground falls fairly steeply. The site has reasonable views all around (Wiggins and Evans 2005).
A small, roughly circular, earthwork with an average diameter of 72m which encircles the top of a small hill in undulating low-lying ground. The site consists of an outer bank, but with a level interior at the same height as the top of the bank. The bank averages 10m wide with an average external height of 1.6m, as mentioned there is no internal height to this ditch. There are no visible traces of outer ditches or banks. There are no visible remains of an entrance or of internal habitations. Univallate small defences. The natural slopes of the hillock are gradual on all sides except for the north-west where the ground falls fairly steeply. The site has reasonable views all around, although these are by no means extensive. Post medieval field boundaries of hedge dissect the site, although it is thought that while this somewhat obscures the full view of the enclosure, it is not causing excess damage to the monument. According to the OS card this earthwork is a small univallate hill-top camp. However, more recently it has been described as a ringwork site by Cadw, and is as such scheduled under the classification of 'Medieval and Post Medieval Secular'. It would seem that without any further investigation the evidence for both a Prehistoric Defended Enclosure and a Ringwork are equivocal (Wiggins 2006). (Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust HER)

The monument comprises the remains of an earthwork enclosure. The date or precise nature of the enclosure is unknown, but it is likely to be later prehistoric in date. The site is located on the NE end of a ridge on the S side of the Ebbw Valley. The enclosure is roughly circular in plan, 73m in diameter, enclosed by a bank. The bank is best preserved on the SE side, where it is up to 1.5m high and 10m wide. On the remaining sides the bank has been ploughed away leaving a scarp, and on the NE side the scarp has a series of quarry holes dug into it and low mounds of spoil piled on to it. On the N and W sides the ground slopes steeply away from the site, while on the other sides it slopes more gently away. The interior of the enclosure is flat and is crossed by post-medieval field boundaries. (Scheduling Report)

Comments

This site has been considered by some writers to be a castle but is rejected as such by Hogg and King as large, vaguely marked enclosure. The general area has undergone considerable development but this enclosure is fairly isolated and there are no roads or paths to the site, suggesting it was not a medieval centre.
For some reason the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust HER record goes on to quote sections from Neil Phillips PhD Thesis Earthwork Castles of Gwent and Ergyng although the quoted sections applies to Rogerstone Castle and not this site.